Last Member of the World’s Earliest Tribe Dies

Port Blair, Andaman Islands – Our earliest days remain, despite the best efforts of archaeologists, very much a mystery. It was in fact only in 2003 that scientists uncovered the remains of Homo Floresiensis, one of our most recent ancestors which likely went extinct only 13,000 years ago. Still, science is slowly developing a picture of humanity’s rise to dominance on this planet, a search that may ultimately lead us to understand why we are such a unique example on this incredibly diverse place we call Earth.

One living example of our ancient past were the Bo people who once inhabited the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. The Bo were one of the great tribes of that region who migrated from Africa approximately 70,000 years ago and eventually inhabited the islands about 5000 years later while other tribes eventually populated Indonesia and Australia. Now the last member of that ancient tribe, a true link to our mysterious past, has died taking with her all the secrets her people may have held. Boa Sr. was the last living member of that ancient tribe and her death closes the chapter on one the clearest examples of early human migration and the spread of our people throughout the world. While some mourn the loss of the tribe, the culture, and the languages, others are happy to see her go so that we can finally get on with our lives…